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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24795121">Key to My Heart</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ALoveForWords/pseuds/ALoveForWords'>ALoveForWords</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Newtina Drabbles [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fantastic Beasts (Movies), Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies), Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Historical with Magic, F/M, Fantasy, Friendship, Romance</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 10:54:13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,599</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24795121</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ALoveForWords/pseuds/ALoveForWords</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Tina Goldstein was the most wanted woman in the neighborhood. Her beauty and resolve attracted many suitors, all of the men in her neighborhood, but she wouldn’t take one for a husband. One day, she announced that she’ll only marry the man who can open her front door with a key around her beloved cat’s neck. Many a man tried to hunt the cat down, chase and trap it, but to no avail. The cat was simply too quick, smart, and clever, always finding a way to evade each suitor.</p><p>Until Newt Scamander.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Tina Goldstein &amp; Newt Scamander, Tina Goldstein/Newt Scamander</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Newtina Drabbles [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1247141</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>116</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Key to My Heart</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is based off a prompt I saw on facebook. I wish I could link it here but it was just a screenshot from a tumblr post and I couldn’t find the post anywhere. Anyway, when I first read it I immediately thought of Newtina and here’s where it led me. As always this is unbeta-ed so all mistakes are mine. Let me know what you think in the comments! Thanks so much for reading!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Newt had just arrived in a neighbourhood in New York. The sun was about to set and he would very much love to get the stench of travel off of him. He had recently decided to move across the pond and take residence in one of the mot famous cities in the United States. He needed a break from London, everyone there knew his name, knew his family, and they kept trying to set him up with women they were related to just so they could say that they've managed to snag Newt Scamander off the market.</p><p>Ever since his older brother, Theseus, had gotten married to Leta Lestrange almost six months ago, people, his mother and brother included, had tried to get Newt his own wife. But getting married was something far from Newt's mind. He wanted to travel, see the world, and learn more about magical creatures. It's exactly this that led him to the decision to move, to free himself from the clutches of British Wizarding aristocracy.</p><p>His mother had protested initially, saying that he wouldn't find the right girl to settle with if he moved half across the globe to live in a place where he knew no one. But finding a wife wasn't the reason he was leaving. He had eventually convinced his mother that he was moving because he wanted to see more of the world, see a world outside what he knew and what was comfortable to him. She reluctantly allowed her youngest son out of her clutch, through the threshold of their elegant home, and off into the world where he had more things to learn and discover.</p><p>That's how he ended up in quaint little apartment in New York, in a neighbourhood with picket fences and a front lawn. It was the sort of dwelling that his mother would have imagined for him back in London, one that had three bedrooms, two baths, a kitchen where you could cook hearty meals for your family. That house also came with a wife however, something Newt had inadvertently escaped from when his mother agreed to let him leave London.</p><p>Newt gives his new home a good once-over, sighing in relief and happiness that he had this much space to himself, free of all the gossip and people who just want to get the mysterious Newt Scamander locked down. He was a free spirit, it would take a remarkable women to get him to settle down. He glances at both ends of the neighbourhood, seeing different families enjoying their time with each other, laughing and chuckling as the children ran around their respective lawns.</p><p>"Hey, you must be our new neighbour," a man said to Newt as he walked past him on his way home.</p><p>"Yes," Newt replied, his hands in his pockets as he stared at the man intently.</p><p>The man held out his hand for a handshake, a smile plastered on his face. "Welcome to the neighbourhood."</p><p>"Newt Scamander," Newt introduced himself, taking the man's hand in his and giving it a firm shake. "Thank you."</p><p>"Achilles Tolliver," the man replied in earnest, reciprocating Newt's firm shake before letting go of his hand. "I see you got the one beside Tina Goldstein's apartment."</p><p>"Excuse me?" Newt asked in confusion, not understanding what Achilles had just implied.</p><p>"I meant the house," Achilles clarified, pointing to Newt's new home. He turns to point at the mysterious house right beside his own. "it's right beside Tina Goldstein's house."</p><p>"And who is Tina Goldstein exactly?" Newt asked once again, still confused why living right by the house of some random woman is news.</p><p>"She's the most beautiful woman in the neighbourhood, man," Achilles replied in disbelief, giving Newt an incredulous look because he didn't understand why Newt didn't know that. "every man in this neighbourhood is trying to get her to fall in love with them.</p><p>Newt stares at Achilles, a little sickened at the idea of trying to get a woman to fall in love with you instead of earning the right to be loved by her.</p><p>"That's the reason you chose this house right?" Achilles pried even further, his new neighbour becoming more and more of a mystery the more he talked to him. "To get closer to the cat?"</p><p>"Cat? What cat?" Newt asked, his face more confused than ever as he tried to find a reasonable explanation to whatever Achilles was saying.</p><p>"You're serious, aren't you?" Achilles deduced, his face shocked as he regarded the new man on the block.</p><p>"Look, I don't know anything about a cat or Tina Goldstein and her house, or whatever the hell you are talking about," Newt ranted, still a little confused as to what the whole point of the conversation was. "I just came here to get away from my family and start a new life. That's all."</p><p>Achilles stared at Newt, scrutinizing the new British man who had just moved in as he tried to make what he could from the words that he just said. He could see in Newt's expression that he was serious, that he was telling the truth. He did come here to start a new life, and he definitely didn't know anything about Tina and her cat.</p><p>"Alright," Achilles said a few minutes later, finally accepting what Newt had said as fact. "I'm sorry if it sounded like I was accusing you of something."</p><p>"Why would you?"</p><p>"It's been an ongoing thing in this neighbourhood for men to try and catch Tina Goldstein's cat," Achilles explained, his voice starting to gear up for the tale he was going to tell. "She had always lived here, <em>that</em>," Achilles added as he pointed to the simple yet majestic house beside Newt's own home. "is their family home. When her parent's died a couple of years ago, her sister left for Paris to become a designer, leaving her alone in that house with just a ginger cat."</p><p>Newt listens carefully at his new neighbour, committing each piece, each fine detail of the story into memory.</p><p>"People said that it was the ginger cat that kept her company in her solitary living," Achilles continued. "One day, a man came knocking on her door, declaring his love for her and her beauty. Tina would not take this, she was bad at taking compliments she said, besides her sister was more beautiful than her. She dismissed him, but he came back the next day to declare his love yet again."</p><p>Achilles paused, glancing at Newt to see if he was still interested to know more. Newt was looking back at him intently, so engrossed in the story that it motivated Achilles to continue on.</p><p>"More and more men became intrigued by her as word spread of her beauty and resolve. Aside from her beauty, her insistence on not taking a husband was what attracted most men to her. They liked a challenge, they wanted the chance to change her mind and make them fall in love with her. One of her suitors made the mistake of declaring that to her one day on her front door, which enraged Tina. She didn't like being a piece of meat, being fought over by men who didn't even find the time to get to know her before they went about declaring how much they loved her."</p><p>Newt's face morphed into one of tenderness. He sympathized with this Tina Goldstein. He had been in her exact situation before he left London. He understood why she wanted to be left in peace. He glanced back at the old house, staring at one of the windows wondering if she was holed up there, not wanting to come out so she could have one moment's peace. She turned back to Achilles, knowing that there was more to the story he needed to hear.</p><p>"After that day, she walked out of her house on her way to work and declared it to the whole neighbourhood. She said that she understood that men were trying to get her, that they were trying to make her theirs, that they didn't love her, just the <em>idea</em> of her. A lot of her suitors were already by her door that morning, so they heard what she had to say to end the madness that had plagued her for most of her adult life."</p><p>"<em>I'm tired of being treated like property, like I am something that could be won and owned, not </em>loved<em> or </em>cared for<em>," she said fiercely outside her front door. "but I understand that one of these days I might need to take a husband, someone who would take care of me and be my companion for the rest of my life."</em></p><p>"All of her suitors were listening to her intently that day, waiting to hear what they must do just to earn her love," Achilles continued, very much into the story as much as Newt was, who was internally eye rolling and scoffing because he knew those men were intent to learn how to earn <em>her</em>, not <em>her love</em>.</p><p>"<em>I know you've all seen my cat," she said once more. "she has been my constant companion since the death of my parents and the departure of my sister. If I am to choose the man who will become my husband, I need to know that he can handle taking care of such a unruly creature."</em></p><p>"She then moved to retrieve a chain of some sort from one of her pockets that was big enough to fit around the cat's neck. On it was a key," Achilles continued animatedly. "she gave the key a final look before shoving it in the direction of the men in front of her."</p><p>"<em>This key is the key to my home," she explained to her suitors, turning back at their old family home, the simple, elegant house her parents had bought when they were starting a family. "whoever manages to retrieve this key from the neck of my beloved, ginger cat, will be the man I will take as my husband."</em></p><p>"Every single one of her suitors began to rush back home, probably trying to find ways to catch a difficult cat, which left Tina with the peace that she craved so much since all of that happened." Achilles concluded his story, crossing his arms against his chest as he looked at the intent expression that was all over Newt's face. "Ever since then no one came knocking at her door trying to convince her they loved her. They simply scoured around the neighbourhood for the elusive cat that would one day win them Tina Goldstein's heart."</p><p>"So, when you asked me about the house, you were asking me if I did all of this just so I could capture the cat?" Newt inquired, looking at the man in front of him questionably, his expression one of disbelief.</p><p>"Yes." Achilles answered simply.</p><p>"Then, no," Newt interjected.</p><p>"Wow, you're the first, then," Achilles commented, shrugging his shoulders.</p><p>Newt shrugged his shoulder in reply, about to walk into his new home when he realized he had one more question he wanted to ask. "Were you one of Tina's suitors?"</p><p>"Of course I am," Achilles said matter-of-factly. "Who do you think started all this madness to begin with?"</p><p>Achilles winked one last time at Newt before he strolled away, heading north to where his own apartment was located. Newt stared after the figure of the man who had just told him the gripping story of Tina Goldstein, disbelief still etched all over his features when he realized that Achilles was the reason that Tina had to issue that ultimatum.</p><p>Newt glances back at the family who lived to the right of his home, the kids still running around the lawn as the parents watched. He then glanced to the house on his left, looking through each window, peering through the white curtains that covered each glass. He wondered if she was in there, in one of the rooms hiding from the world as they continued to try to win her. He sighs, sympathy spreading across is heart for the woman he has yet to meet, before finally looking back at his own home, walking towards the front door, inserting his key, and opening the front door to his new home and his new life for the very first time.</p>
<hr/><p>Newt had lived there for months, but not once had he laid eyes on Tina Goldstein. He would never admit it to anyone, but she intrigued him. Hearing about her beauty from the men he encountered in the neighborhood in his months of residence made him question if she was really a beauty to behold, it made him <em>want</em> to see her.</p><p>He only caught a glimpse of her once, late in the day just before sunset when she was heading home from work. She had her back turned against him, her tall, slender form wrapped in a gray coat. She had black hair, short and neat, and she held herself with so much respect and grace it made him want to look at her even more. That's when he started observing her when he can while she was at home, his fascination with Tina Goldstein growing bigger each day.</p><p>Everyday when she came home, Tina would open her bedroom window to allow air in. She'd sit in front of her desk as she began working before she headed down for supper a few hours later. She listened to the wireless every night before bed, and all the lights went out after that.</p><p>Newt had her routine memorized in a week. He looked forward to staring at her bedroom window every afternoon, and into her living room window every night. He knew it was intrusive, berated himself for it countless times. But every day he still ended up looking through her glass windows as much as his vision permitted, hoping to catch a glimpse of her beauty and feel a connection with her that mimicked one of a kindred spirit.</p><p>Newt had seen her cat countless times over the months he had lived there. He saw man after man trying to catch it, chase it, and track it down, but to no avail. The cat was simply too quick, smart, and clever, always finding different ways to evade each suitor. Newt would smirk in satisfaction every time a suitor failed to snatch the cat, even going as far as grinning when he sees one of them get injured and how satisfied the feline looked whenever it evaded capture. It brought pleasure to him every time the cat manages to escape one of its owner's suitor, as if she knew what Tina would want in a husband.</p><p>One day, the cat came wondering over to his backyard as he was weeding the garden. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up and his hands were covered in dirt, a couple of weeds and dead roots laid on the grass near him.</p><p>He never noticed the cat until it purred at him. His head quickly turned to the direction of the purr, surprised that a cat who had managed to evade all human contact, except from that of her owner, had decided to make contact with him.</p><p>The cat's beady eyes stared at him as if challenging him to make a move. Newt stares at her for minute, his eyes immediately flicking to the shimmering golden key around her neck. He looks back at the cat, weighing his options as he did so. He could easily snag the cat, grab the key from its neck, and walk over to Tina Goldstein's house and claim his prize, <em>her</em>.</p><p>But what would that make him? It would make him to the kind of man he detested, the kind of men who saw women as property, as something they could win or buy. His felt disgusted at the thought of anyone claiming her just because they've managed to capture a cat that was probably not as smart as they were. A blind hatred started to take form inside of him, a hatred for any man who would eventually claim Tina Goldstein as their price.</p><p>He looked back at the cat, who was now staring at him, challenging him to take the key. He looked back at the glimmering piece of metal on the cat's neck and decided, he was not going to be of those men.</p><p>He moved slightly from where he was crouched, taking the cat by surprise as she prepared to scram as soon as he made a move for the key. But instead of pouncing, Newt simply smiled at her, holding out his hand towards her as he made noises to urge her towards him.</p><p>He thought it wouldn't work, that the cat would just see it as a trap and would run right back to where she came from. But to Newt's surprise, she didn't. She urged forward, one paw after the other in the direction of the man in front of her. She approaches him caution, ready to pounce, ready to escape the minute Newt moves to grab the key.</p><p>To the cat's surprise, he didn't. He simply stroke her head, allowing her soft fur to brush against his arm as she purred away happily in his arms. Newt chuckles as the cat began to loosen up, becoming more and more loving with each stroke of his hand. She began to slither against his arm, her fur brushing against Newt, making him laugh at the ticklish sensation that her soft fur left on his skin. He finds the courage to pick her up, cradling the creature in his arms as he stroked her and swayed her like a baby.</p><p>"D'you want something to eat?" He asks the creature, knowing that he probably won't get an answer from her.</p><p>The cat purred in response, bringing a smile to Newt's face as he walked back inside, the cat in hand, to get her some cookies and milk. The cat nuzzled against Newt's arms, finding comfort in the safety of his strong embrace. He had never expected her to react in such a way with him, not after he had seen what she has done to Tina's countless other suitors.</p><p><em>Maybe she knows I won't use her to get to her mistress.</em> Newt thinks to himself as he sets her down on his living room floor.</p><p>He grabs milk from his fridge and a couple of cookies from the cupboard, placing them in bowls before laying them on the living room floor for the cat to eat. He stands just as she came running towards the bowls, going for he milk first, licking and licking as though she had never had milk in her life.</p><p>Newt watches the cat endearingly, unable to fathom how something so sweet managed to play tricks and even injure the scores of men who wanted her mistress' hand. She finishes the last of her milk, cookies all gone as well before finally looking up at Newt, licking the last few cookie crumbs and droplets of milk from her mouth.</p><p>"Meow," she purred, still looking at Newt as if trying to tell him she was grateful.</p><p>"You're welcome," he replies in amusement, chuckling as he saw the cat scamper off, out of his kitchen window and into his back yard, disappearing in front of Newt's eyes as soon as she was out.</p><p>Newt shook his head, still unable to believe that a cat that managed to keep so many away, decided to trust him.</p><p>He turns back to his living room, looking at the empty bowls of milk and cookies he had laid down for her. He picked them up and starts washing them, unable to stop smiling at the fact that he had befriended the cat that every single man in the neighborhood was trying to catch.</p>
<hr/><p>Months became years and Newt had finally settled into life in America. Tina's cat became a companion of his too. At times where she wasn't at her mistress' home, she was at his. Newt was always someone who loved animals, found solace in them in fact. And it is because of this fact that he had managed to open up to the cat. He didn't know what about her made him talk so much, but every time the cat came over, he always managed to reveal a part of himself to her.</p><p>The first few months of her visit, he managed to tell her about where he came from. The next month he told her about his family and how he kept hearing from them that he should return to London and how he should already be married with a wife. The cat had inadvertently hissed when Newt mentioned the word 'wife', making Newt chuckle at her antics.</p><p>In the succeeding months he revealed more and more about himself than no one, not even his family knew. About how he hated when he was pawned on to women his age back home, how his family and British aristocracy always wanted the only Scamander bachelor left to wed and finally take a wife, and how who that wife was was such a huge deal for everyone. He told her that was the reason he left. He wanted peace. He wanted quiet.</p><p>"I guess you would understand how that felt, little one," Newt said to the cat. "after all your mistress had to go through the same thing with every man in the neighborhood."</p><p>The cat simply purred at him in agreement, nuzzling up to him as she cuddled against his stomach, an attempt to console him it made Newt appreciate having someone to talk to about these things, even if it was just a cat</p><p>Aside from himself he would also talk to her about her owner. He constantly told her that Tina Goldstein was one of the many things about America that intrigued him. He would chuckle as the cat purred every time she heard her mistress' name, glaring at him with her beady eyes every time he said something about the key around her neck.</p><p>Newt came to enjoy the long hours he spent with his neighbor's cat, something he never expected since he heard the story behind her mistress.</p><p>There were days where Tina's suitors would come marching into his lawn in pursuit of the cat, knowing that it is here, in Newt's presence, that the cat seemed less dangerous. But despite them using this to their own advantage, they still never managed to retrieve the key. It stilled hanged and swayed lightly on the cat's neck as she marched back and forth between her mistress' lawn and Newt's lawn, as she ran from the suitors that still had the energy to chase her down, and as she walked the blocks of the neighborhood at night when everyone was asleep.</p>
<hr/><p>In the years that Newt has lived in this neighborhood not once has he laid eyes on Tina Goldstein. His desire to lay eyes on her never wavered, but unlike all the men that wanted to have her as a wife, he never attempted to steal the key from her cat.</p><p>The first time they met was one day when Newt had just came home from work. He usually arrived before her in the past, but that day, as he strolled down the block towards his own house, he passed by hers, and there, standing in the lawn was the beautiful Tina Goldstein.</p><p>"Hello," she greeted from where she was standing, a sweet smile on her face.</p><p>It took everything in Newt not to stare. He blinked, opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out.</p><p>He tried to avoid her gaze, feeling shame rise in him as he had a hard time trying to find the right words to say.</p><p>"Are you alright?" she asked, an amused smile spread across her face as started to approach him.</p><p>"Yes, yes, I'm fine," he replied, stepping away from her in panic. He didn't know how to act around her, not after years of wondering what she would be like in person.</p><p>His reaction took her by surprise. She never met a man in her life who recoiled from her touch. She steps back, gives the man in front of her some space as he tried to conjure up the words to say.</p><p>"I'm sorry, that was rude," Newt said, noticing that Tina had just inched away from him, somewhat taken aback by his treatment of her.</p><p>"No, it's fine."</p><p>"No, it's not," Newt countered, finding his footing and courage to approach her. "Miss Goldstein, I apologize."</p><p>She looked at him in shock. "You know who I am?"</p><p>"The whole neighborhood knows who you are," he replied with an awkward smile.</p><p>"Ah," she replied simple, nodding her head as she did so. "Does that mean you know everything as well?"</p><p>"Sadly, yes," Newt admitted guiltily, his lip pressed into a tight line at the thought that Tina would think he was a huge gossip.</p><p>"I mean, I didn't go around asking," he clarified as soon as he saw Tina inch further and further away from him. "someone just approached me and asked me if the reason why I moved in next door to you was so I could capture your cat."</p><p>"And what did you say?" Tina countered back, angling herself towards Newt as she inched closer to him, finally feeling like she could approach him without him running off.</p><p>"I told him the truth," Newt answered earnestly. "that I moved here to get away from my family."</p><p>"And how's that working for you?"</p><p>"Pretty good so far," Newt replied with a smile as he brought one of his hands awkwardly towards his head to scratch it.</p><p>"I've seen you with my cat, you know," Tina admitted, looking up at Newt with a smile, her beautiful brown eyes latching onto his blue ones.</p><p>"She's a feisty one."</p><p>"How come you never made a move to steal the key from her neck?" Tina asked bluntly, walking closer to Newt so that they were only a few feet apart now, their eyes never parting. "You've heard the story, and I'm pretty sure you've seen the ruckus that that story has caused, you even experienced it in your own lawn."</p><p>Newt chuckled, ducking his head before replying, "Yes."</p><p>"So why haven't you?" Tina asked again. "You had every chance to snatch the key away from her."</p><p>"I just didn't think it was right," Newt replied honestly, his eyes finding Tina's again. "she trusted me, I didn't want to betray her like that. Besides, it felt good to have someone to talk to, even if it was just a cat."</p><p>Tina smiled with a glimmer in her eyes upon hearing Newt's confession. "No wonder she likes you."</p><p>"I like her too," Newt confessed as he continued to looked deep into Tina's eyes, swimming in the beautiful brown ocean they represented. "It was nice to finally meet you, Miss Goldstein."</p><p>"It was nice to finally meet you as well, Mr. Scamander," Tina replied with an amused smile.</p><p>"How did you…?"</p><p>"That's a story for another time," Tina answered simply, before turning her back on Newt, walking towards her home with him staring at her slender figure until it was finally safe behind her front door, in the confines of her own home.</p>
<hr/><p>After that first encounter, Newt had seen Tina Goldstein more frequently than he had before. They ran into each other some mornings on their way to work and in the afternoon when they got in. He continued to stare into her bedroom window at dusk and through her kitchen windows at night. Her cat would come wondering to his apartment as before, but unlike then, Tina would come over looking for her just when she went missing.</p><p>They would engage in small talk on occasions when Tina ended up in his lawn in search for her beloved cat, chuckling and smiling at each other as they did so. Newt began to understand the allure to her, why many men have wanted to make her their wife.</p><p>Their brief encounters at his lawn later evolved into hours spent in his apartment, just talking and enjoying the other's company. She had admitted to him that ever since her sister had left, she had no one. Not a single one of her suitors ever considered talking to her, to get to know her, yet they all declared to love her.</p><p>"I'm truly sorry this happened to you, Tina," Newt apologized, knowing how lonely it must feel for her to be surrounded by a neighborhood full of men wanting her for what she represented, a women who couldn't be nailed down. "you deserve to be happy with someone you care about, and with someone who cares about you too."</p><p>His admission took her by surprise, she had never heard anyone that wasn't her sister tell her that before.</p><p>"I wish the men who purport to love me saw it through your eyes, Newt," Tina admitted in reply, her eyes so full of sadness it made Newt's heart ache.</p><p>They both sighed, Newt unable to find the right words to comfort the woman he had now considered a friend.</p><p>"I'm thankful to have you, though," Tina blurted out into the comfortable silence that had settled between them a few moments later.</p><p>She turned to look at him, the sadness in her eyes now replaced with gratitude. He turned to look at her at almost the same time, their eyes connecting in a tender gaze.</p><p>"You're right," she added with a smile. "It's nice to have someone to talk to."</p>
<hr/><p>News had circulated around the neighborhood that Tina Goldstein was spotted somewhere other than her apartment, that she was spending more and more time with the handsome British guy who had moved to the neighborhood a couple of years ago.</p><p>The search and capture for her beloved cat became more exhaustive, as suitors began to set traps for the poor creature in order to snatch her unknowingly and get the key. Newt had seen less and less of the cat as days went by, and he didn't blame her. After all her mistress' suitors have done to ensure that she was captured, Newt wasn't surprised that she went into hiding.</p><p>Despite the cat's absence, Newt spent most of his free time in the presence of the her mistress. They have grown closer and closer since the first time they met, and Newt would be a liar if he said that he wasn't falling for the beautiful woman from next door.</p><p>He often times found himself staring at her while she talked, observing the tiny mannerisms that she had about her, like how her right eyebrow arched a certain way whenever she was trying to tease him, how her face lit up anytime she mentions how it was for her when her family was still together, how she beamed with pride every time she talked about one of her sister's designs. Seeing Tina smile whenever they were together and whenever they talked was something to behold. It made him feel lighter and happier as well, seeing her this way.</p><p>"You're doing it again," Tina teased him, her eyebrows arched sharply in his direction as she teased his staring again.</p><p>"No, I'm not!" Newt denied automatically, averting his gaze in an attempt to prove his point.</p><p>Tina simply shook her head, always letting Newt's scrutiny of her slide. But if she were to be honest, she felt good whenever she saw that familiar look on his face. It was probably one of the reasons she visited so often, because she longed to be looked at by him that way. Despite the number of men who claimed to love her, who wanted her for a wife, not a single one of them looked at her the way Newt did.</p><p>At time when Tina was over, Newt would often ask her if she was ever concerned that her cat would get hurt in the process of her suitors trying to capture her. Tina would simply brush him off with a simple no for an answer, reassuring him that she could never be caught by any of the men in their neighborhood, that that was the reason she let the cat keep the key for her. She knew that it was uncatchable.</p><p>"Are you sure?" Newt pressed on, his concern for the cat and for Tina as well more evident than before.</p><p>"Yes, I'm sure," Tina replied confidently. "I've had that cat for quite some time now and I know how she functions, and she knows me."</p><p>Tina turned to look back at Newt, giving him an encouraging smile. "Besides, I feel that soon her services won't be needed anymore."</p><p>Newt's head whipped in the direction of Tina's voice, shock taking over every single fiber of his being. "What does that mean?"</p><p>"Just means that I think the key would not need guarding anymore," Tina explains ominously, cocking her eyebrows at Newt.</p><p>"Oh," Newt said, a little relieved that it wasn't what he thought it was. "I thought you meant something else."</p><p>Tina's expression immediately changing into one of concern as she realized what Newt might have thought her statement meant.</p><p>"Oh my god, no!" she replied almost immediately. "I never meant for you to take what I said as me trying to dispose of her. She means everything to me. I would give my life for her."</p><p>"I would too," Newt commented with a smile, a smile which Tina responded to in kind, her own laced with gratitude and affection for a man she now considered a close friend and confidant.</p><p>"Thank you, Newt."</p><p>"For what?" He asked, a little confused by Tina's sudden burst of gratitude.</p><p>"Just," she began, unable to find the right words to say in that situation. "Thank you."</p><p>The pair share a smile, finally turning to stare at Newt's fireplace as they listened to the wireless, an activity that they've been doing for quite sometime now, both grateful to be in the presence of the other.</p>
<hr/><p>Days turned into weeks and Newt hadn't seen his furry friend. He began to fear that maybe one of Tina's suitors had managed to capture her, hurting her in the process and that the cat was lying in a ditch somewhere.</p><p>He had half a mind of asking Tina about it, but he knew that if anything happened to the cat, that Merlin forbid someone managed to wrangle the cat out of it's devious ability to escape capture, he would hear about it.</p><p>But no news of Tina's engagement or the capture of the cat circulated around the neighborhood, calming Newt's nerves slightly.</p><p>It was only one night in the autumn when he finally saw the familiar fluffy ginger fur brush up against his window. She purred and purred in an attempt to wake a sleeping Newt from his slumber. When that didn't work she went and started scratching at his windows until Newt, disgruntled from being awoken from deep sleep, began to stroll over to the window, opening it up to allow his furry little friend in.</p><p>She immediately jumped into the room as though she had been in it before, happy to be finally out of the cold autumn air and in the presence of someone she trusted. Newt had walked over to his beside table, turning on the lamp he had situated atop it as he peered at his neighbor's cat.</p><p>"Hey you," he said as he approached her, crouching down to give her a quick pat. "what are you doing here? Tina would be awfully worried if she knew you weren't home yet at this hour."</p><p>She was less than affectionate with him despite his affection towards her. Newt was surprised by the cat's reaction to his advances, noticing that she wasn't her usual playful, active self. "What's wrong?"</p><p>As if on cue, the cat's head turned to face Newt, looking him dead in the eye with its familiar beady eyes. Newt noticed something on its mouth, as if she were carrying something with it. He shifted, now kneeling in front of the cat. He moved to inspect the creature's mouth when she looked up at him, stretching her body and neck so that she could reach the human in front of her. It was then that Newt finally realized what was in her mouth.</p><p>It was the key, the key that had caused so much trouble since before he had moved to the neighborhood.</p><p>Newt moved slightly, doubting whether the cat was meaning to give it to him. He sees the cat jerk it's head towards him as if telling him to take it from her. He hesitates for a minute, before finally taking the key from the cat's mouth into his hand.</p><p>"What is this?" he asked rhetorically as he inspected the familiar piece of metal he had seen countless time.</p><p>Newt looked back to where the cat was standing previously, hoping to find the familiar look of cheekiness in her eyes. To his surprise, the cat wasn't there anymore. She had managed to walk over to the dim corner of his room without him noticing. The dull light that Newt's lamp had cast on the room was not helping him find his furry friend, so he squinted in the direction of the corner of the room in the hopes that he would find the cat and return her, and the key, to its owner.</p><p>But before Newt could get any closer, a familiar voice comes from the dimmed area of his room.</p><p>"That's the key to my heart."</p><p>Newt's eyes grew large in realization as he now walked over to the area of the room where he was sure one Tina Goldstein was standing. He reached her in a matter of minutes, his eyes immediately finding hers in the darkness that enveloped her. He looks down, searches for the cat, his mind trying to make sense of the things that were happening in that moment.</p><p>"You won't find her," Tina said, peering at Newt as he tried to search for the cat that was supposed to be standing in her place.</p><p>"I know," Newt answered back, his eyes now fixed on Tina's, finally understanding everything, how she had been the cat all along, that she had been protecting the key because she was the only person she could trust. That is, until he came along.</p><p>He looks down at his hand, his fingers now stroke the intricate details of the key that was sitting atop his palm. He looks back up, back up into Tina's beautiful brown eyes, before he asked, "why are you giving this to me?"</p><p>"I think you know why," Tina smiled, a hint of a teardrop starting to form in her eyes.</p><p>"The goal was never to catch the cat," Newt said in realization, his eyes never wavering as he continued to swim in the beautiful brown ocean that was Tina Goldstein's eyes. "but to befriend it."</p><p>Tina smiled happily, her heart full at the realization that the man in front of her finally understood. She inches closer to him, only a few inches separating the two of them now before saying, "Because it's only when you've befriended the cat that would you get to earn the trust of the person whose heart you want to claim."</p><p>"I never wanted to claim—" Newt began to say, his sentence cut off as quickly as it began by the woman standing in front of him.</p><p>"You didn't have to," Tina declared, the tears that have now formed in her eyes glistening in the dull light that had shed light on her beautiful features. "You've earned it."</p><p>Tina took one of Newt's hands in hers, the hand that was grasping the key that she had fiercely protected all these years. She threaded her fingers through his, the key now sitting between the palm of their intertwined hands. Newt's eyes flew to their linked hands, following it without blinking as Tina brought his hand towards her chest. She placed his hand on top of her beating heart, the back of his palm feeling the steady, strong heartbeat beneath. He then looks back up at him, staring into the beautiful brown eyes of the woman he knew he had loved since the first time he laid eyes on her.</p><p>"With this key, I give you my heart, Newt Scamander," Tina affirmed tearfully, her voice cracking as she tried with all her might to keep herself from crying. "you've had it since the first time you let me into your life and into your home, when you fed me milk and cookies."</p><p>Tina laughed despite herself, allowing a single tear to escape from her eye as she continued. "Will you accept it?"</p><p>"You're giving me the most precious thing you possess," Newt replied delightedly, smiling widely at Tina as he squeezed her hand tightly. He could feel his heart beating hard against his chest as he felt a sensation he had never felt before he me Tina, <em>love</em>. "something you've gone to so many lengths to protect, how could I say no?"</p><p>Tina laughs, her heart feeling lighter and happier than it ever had been before. She felt Newt wrap his arms around her waist, pulling them closer together and eliminating as much space between the two of them as he could. He inched closer to her, touching her nose ever so lightly, his eyes fluttering down to look at her lips. His eyes flew back to hers, latching onto the beautiful brown eyes he had grown so fond of.</p><p>He sees a glimmer in his eyes, an invitation that gives him the courage to inch closer to her, to finally plant his lips on hers in a soft, tender kiss.</p><p>A warmth spread through both their bodies, the feel of the other's lips on their intoxicating. They don't move initially, the feel of the kiss too intense for either one of them to bare. In a matter of seconds Tina's free arm finds it's way around Newt's neck, pulling him closer to her if that was even possible. He moves their hands, finally letting go of hers as he grasped at the key in his hand before wrapping his arms around her waist.</p><p>Tina moves her now free hand, deciding to settle it on top of one of Newt's chiseled cheeks. She strokes and caresses the soft skin beneath her fingers, moving in unison with him as they deepen the kiss, the two of them in their own little universe, lost in the feeling of the touch of the other.</p><p>They break away a few minutes later, the need for air growing stronger and stronger. Their eyes immediately found each other's, blue and brown linked as they panted in an attempt to replenish the much needed oxygen their bodies required.</p><p>Tina finally rests her forehead against Newt's, closing her eyes as she allowed herself to feel him and his presence without the need for sight. Newt snuggles against her, rubbing his nose against hers before settling against her forehead.</p><p>A few minutes in bliss had passed as Newt and Tina were wrapped in the arms of the other. Tina's hands roam in search for Newt's, the hand that had the key to her family home in it. She took the key away from Newt, not once making him worry at the gesture for he knew she wasn't having second thoughts about her decision. She runs her hand over it briefly before grasping the chain and allowing it to extend to its full length.</p><p>The chain had grown longer than its previous size. What used to fit the neck of a cat, now was long enough to fit the neck of a human being. Tina grasps the chain with both hands before bringing it over Newt's head and putting it on him. The cold chain was no resting on top of Newt's chest.</p><p>Tina looked back up at eyes, her eyes staring into the blue ocean that were Newt's eyes as she laid her right hand on top of the key, just above Newt's heart. "You've accepted this trinket, but you know it's something more."</p><p>She looked back at the key, the only thing that kept her safe from the advances of men who wanted her for everything but her heart. She stroked the key, pressing it against Newt's heart before looking back up at him, her eyes now filled with tears.</p><p>"Don't worry, Tina," Newt affirmed, stroking her cheek as a stray tear came streaming down her face. "I'll guard it with my life. Just as fiercely as you've guarded it with yours."</p><p>It was Tina who inched closer this time, planting a kiss on his lips with so much love and affection she felt like she would burst.</p><p>She spent her entire lifetime guarding her heart from men who wanted to claim her like she was their damn property. He ran away from home because people were treating him like he was some sort of trophy to be won. But now, none of that mattered. They've found love in each other, a kind of love between people who have finally found the person who loved them for who they are, and not for what they represent.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So I decided to add the prompt here as an end note in case anyone of my readers want to make a story like this of their own. Thanks again for reading this! Here’s the prompt:</p><p>Story idea: The most wanted woman in town has announced that she'll only marry the one who can open her front door with the key around her cat's neck. Many men try to hunt the cat down, chase and trap it, but to no avail, the cat is simply too quick, smart and clever, and always finds a way to evade and avoid them.</p><p>You are the first one to figure out the obvious: Do not chase the cat. The cat is befriendable. Get the cat to trust you, to genuinely enjoy your company, and you can hang out with the cat. You may eventually be allowed to touch the cat. The cat will freely let you take the key.</p><p>Secondary plot twist: The woman is a shapeshifter. She is the cat.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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